During the day, Howard Novick and Jodi Shensa practiced dentistry on their Allentown patients. At night, they allegedly took painkillers to feed their addiction to prescription drugs.

And sometimes, Novick allegedly was high on the painkillers while working on patients.

This week, state officials charged the engaged couple with violating prescription drug laws by repeatedly prescribing painkillers and other drugs for themselves.

Novick also is charged with reckless endangerment for allegedly being mentally impaired on the painkiller Demerol while performing oral surgery.

Novick, 48, an oral surgeon, and Shensa, 34, a dentist, have surrendered their dental licenses. They lived in Breinigsville until moving to Monroeville, Allegheny County, during the summer.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher, who announced the arrests Wednesday, said the potential harm to patients was severe.

"People who are involved in the practice of medicine if they are people with a drug dependency, they are a risk not just to themselves but to others," he said. "These are not victimless crimes."

In July, during searches at the couple's home and office, investigators found a diary allegedly written by Shensa in which she describes her drug addiction.

She expressed the "love" that she and Novick felt for Demerol and her desire that it be sold without a prescription.

Shensa also wrote that Novick had injected both of them with Demerol at times. And she wrote that one night he inserted a catheter in one of her veins so she could receive Demerol continuously throughout the night.

"The Big D" was the "drug of choice" for both of them, she wrote.

Demerol's side effects include dizziness, sluggishness, tremors, vomiting, hallucinations and convulsions. When prescribed, Demerol carries warnings about driving a vehicle, operating machinery or performing any other potentially hazardous activity.

Shensa also allegedly wrote that they took the office's drug lockbox home to use the drugs for personal use.

Both had changed employers several times during the last few years. They worked at Gentle Dental in Allentown for a few months until last January. She was fired for "poor clinical skill," according to the affidavit. He was fired because of "suspicious behavior."

Then they went to work at the Fairless Hills Dental Center in lower Bucks County.

During interviews with agents, the couple said they had recent periods in which they were using drugs and not using drugs.

The investigation started when an Allentown patient complained about Novick to the Pennsylvania Dentistry Board after Novick pulled 22 of his teeth.

Agents searched their Breinigsville home and their Fairless Hills office at the same time last July 26.

In Fairless Hills, the agents came upon Novick working on a patient while allegedly high on Demerol. He had performed oral surgery on two other patients that morning.

According to a detective's affidavit, Novick later admitted he had injected himself with Demerol that morning in the office parking lot. He said he had injected himself 10 times in the prior 24 hours.

Novick allegedly raised his shirt to show the detective the needle marks.

A blood test confirmed that Novick was under the influence of Demerol, according to the affidavit.

"The presence of this controlled substance impaired Howard Novick's ability to safely perform surgical procedures on that date," according to the affidavit.

During an investigation, agents allegedly found that the couple had illegally prescribed drugs in each other's name -- and in Shensa's brother's name -- at about eight Lehigh County pharmacies. They also ordered the drugs by mail. Shensa's brother is not under suspicion and did not need the drugs, officials said.

From July 2000 to July 2001, agents allege, the couple prescribed at least two dozen types of drugs for themselves, ordering about 2,000 tablets, capsules and vials.

The drugs included morphine, Vicodin and Tylenol with codeine, all painkillers, and lidocaine, an anesthetic.

Both were charged with acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud, prescription of a controlled substance outside medical treatment standards and criminal conspiracy. Novick also was charged with recklessly endangering another person.

They were arraigned Tuesday by District Justice Charles Crawford of Trexlertown. Both were released on $25,000 recognizance bonds, meaning they did not have to post bail.

Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said the couple will be prosecuted in Lehigh County Court. He said he wasn't aware of other Lehigh County dental professionals who'd ever been charged with such crimes.

If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 70 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Lawyer Stanton Levenson of Pittsburgh, representing Shensa, said Wednesday that Shensa gave up dentistry because "she didn't like it," and plans to study another field. He declined to comment about the allegations.

Novick's lawyer did not return a reporter's phone call.

Before the criminal investigation, Novick had been in trouble with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dentistry Board.

In 1998, he surrendered his DEA prescription registration after an investigation revealed he had obtained prescription drugs for his own use with no medical justification. He later received a new registration after agreeing to conditions.

For related reasons, in 1998, his dental license was suspended for five years. But it was immediately changed to a five-year probation. Conditions included that Shensa monitor him.

Fisher said the case shows that people need to check the backgrounds of people they hire -- whether they're dentists, doctors or roofing contractors.